title: Trait-aggressiveness and impulsivity: role of psychological resilience and childhood trauma in a sample of male prisoners.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  One of the major challenges for research in the field of human aggression is the need to define the role of personality and trait-like dimensions, such as impulsivity and aggressiveness, in predisposing to violent behavior.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  1) To determine whether trait- aggressiveness and impulsivity may be associated with socio-demographic, clinical and crime history variables in a sample of male prisoners; 2) to detect any association of those traits with measures of early traumatic experiences and current resilience traits.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of male prisoners (n = 1356) underwent the Brown-Goodwin Assessment for Lifetime History of Aggression (BGLHA) and the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS). Axis I psychiatric disorders were also assessed. Early traumatic experiences and psychological resilience were detected respectively by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Two non-linear logistic regression models were performed to test for the best predictors of trait-aggressiveness and impulsivity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects with a history of substance use disorders and self-mutilation reported both higher BGLHA and BIS scores. Axis I disorders and suicide attempts were associated with aggressiveness, but not to impulsivity. A consistent correlation was found between BGLHA scores and early traumatic experiences. Resilience was positively correlated to impulsivity but not to aggressiveness scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results support the view that aggressiveness and impulsivity are two different, albeit related trait-like dimensions of personality, having a different relationship with resilience, and, inferentially, a different impact over the development of psychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: Vladimir Carli, Department of Health Sciences, University of Molise , via F. De Sanctis, 86100, Campobasso , Italy , and Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, National Prevention of Suicide and Mental Ill-Health (NASP) , 17177, Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Carli
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mandelli
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zaninotto
authors.forename: Siegfried
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alberti
authors.forename: Alec
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serretti
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sarchiapone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008016:Life Change Events; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012652:Self Mutilation / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires